Liberia’s government was patterned after that of the United States, with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Political parties were legalized in 1984, and civilian rule was established in 1986. However, considerable political unrest and violence precluded any stable leadership in power from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. A power-sharing agreement in 2003 largely ended the fighting and created a National Transitional Government (NTG). The NTG, supported by United Nations peacekeeping troops, replaced the government under the 1986 constitution and was expected to rule ruled until a new administration could be democratically elected and administration was installed in 2006.

According to the 1986 constitution, the country is led by a president who is directly elected for a six-year term. Members of the bicameral National Assembly, who serve six-year terms in the House of Representatives and nine-year terms in the Senate, are also elected directly. The judicial system comprises the Supreme Court, an appeals court, magistrate courts, and criminal courts. There are also traditional courts in some communities; the ethnic groups are allowed, as far as possible, to govern themselves according to customary law.

The 1986 constitution calls for a multiparty system. Major political parties and organizations include the National Democratic Party of Liberia, the Unity Party, the Liberian Action Party, the Liberia Unification Party, the United People’s Party, the National Patriotic Party, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia.

For administrative purposes, Liberia is divided into 15 counties. Each of the counties is headed by a superintendent, who is appointed by the president.

Education

Since 1939 education has been compulsory for children between the ages of 7 and 16 and is free at the primary and secondary levels. Institutes providing higher education include the University of Liberia (1951) in Monrovia, Cuttington University College (1889; Episcopalian) in Suakoko, and the William V.S. Tubman College of Technology (1970) in Harper. There are several vocational schools, including the Booker Washington Institute at Kakata, a government school.

The years of civil war and strife that began in the late 1980s and continued into the early 2000s disrupted education in Liberia: students were forced to flee with their families from the violence, and the majority of educational facilities and supplies were destroyed. After the peace accord of 2003, Liberia began the arduous task of rebuilding the country’s educational system.

Health and welfare

Conditions in Liberia were poor prior to the civil war, and they deteriorated further after years of war and unrest. Although much progress had been made in providing better health facilities, after the conflict subsided, the majority of these facilities were left in shambles or completely destroyed, especially in the areas beyond Monrovia. International relief organizations operated makeshift hospitals to serve the country’s health care needs, and reestablishing the health care infrastructure was a priority of the NTGgovernment.

Malaria and measles are major health problems, and yellow fever, cholera, tuberculosis, and malnutrition are also prevalent. Dysentery, malaria, and diarrhea are major causes of infant mortality, which, at about 130 per 1,000 births, is high by world standards.

Housing in much of the country was damaged or destroyed by civil war and the following years of unrest; hundreds of thousands of Liberians were displaced. The country’s utilities infrastructure was also destroyed. When the fighting subsided in 2003, privately owned generators were, for the most part, the only source of power in the country. Water delivery and sanitation systems were adversely affected by warfare as well, and unsafe water conditions were a major source of disease during and after the conflict.